Brazil’s YAs

Community of Christ, Poa, Brazil:
The Biography of a Young Adult Ministry

Our ministry was born out of the necessity. It is so very important in today’s world to show other young persons that we are committed to a religion. Young people today die very young thanks to many things that the world offers. There is so much music, drink, sex, and drugs – and all of it is easy to come by.

So as young adults we do our best to bring our families, and to share what we know with them. We try to show them that going to church is not boring, that Christ loves us and that we can still go out. We go to the movies, to the mall, to the beach or to the theater with friends or family. We explain to them that we live a normal healthy life.

We work hard to show people that going to the church is not “blah”, but rather that it is good to go to church together and we can be happy serving Christ.

In Community of Christ we have have the freedom to express our ministry through music, dance and gospel nights all within our Christ given freedom.

So we have found our ministry to be very rewarding.

Ivan Dias Monteiro

My name is Ivan and I will share a little of my testimony.

Eight years ago I was invited to come get to know the Community of Christ. I very much enjoyed my visit and I decided that I would be baptized. In the beginning I suffered under various persons’ prejudices, even coming from my family. But God already had plans for my life. Still, this was only the beginning of the trials. I went for eight years where every conversation with my sister turned into a fight. But I didn’t give up. I remained determined, and today she has been baptized.
A major challenge came when my mother was sick. Many times I had to make difficult decisions, but it was the Lord’s will. I often had to leave my mother at home sick so that I could go worship God. But nobody was forcing me to go to church in those days. I just had to find a way for me and my family. And the Lord blessed and healed us. From that point on difficulties continued, but there were many more blessings. Thanks to God I remain firmly planted in the church to this day and I want to remain so until the end.

Vainer Teixeira da Silva

Before I came into contact with the Community of Christ, I was the sort of person who enjoyed the things of the world.
I didn’t much like staying at home. My life was filled with going to concerts, parties, and bars with friends. As a result I hardly had any time for my family. I made my parents do a lot of worrying for me. I often didn’t come home at night. I didn’t take good care of my own body.

Then, when I met the Community of Christ, many things started to change in relation to my attitudes and ideas. I began to learn more about Christ, about my value,s and my potential to be blessed and to be a blessing for others. So begins my testimony of a life transformed.

Since that moment of transformation I have received many blessings such as a good job, coming to respect my family and my girlfriend, and at the same time gaining their respect in return. I bought a car. I stopped drinking any kind of alcoholic beverage. In other words I am being greatly blessed by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Community of Christ.
I thank God, the brothers who have supported me, my girlfriend’s parents who brought me to the Community of Christ, my family and my pastors.